Finally
by 9r7g5h
Summary: Finally, she was here.


**AN:** At the moment, I hate my friend. Even after I told her that I had only read to chapter thirty, she still went ahead and told me that Yuko dies and that Watanuki takes over the shop. So, because I think that the two of them are cute together and I know nothing else about how the manga ends, I wrote this. I hope you like it, and forgive me for messing anything up! Also, this is fanfiction number ninety-five :D Five more, and I've reached my goal of one-hundred! :)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own XXXHoLic. CLAMP does.

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"Moro-chan, Maru-chan…it looks like we have a visitor. Bring her here."

His voice was soft as it echoed throughout the store, lazily drifting into the ears of the only two that had kept him company for so long in the darkness. Tilting their heads as the two twins turned to look at their master, it was with matching smiles that the girls heard the bell that spoke of a customer, their first in a very, very long time. Clasping hands, waiting until their master gave them permission, it was with skipping steps that they found themselves facing the girl that had been drawn to them just in time.

"Welcome to the shop!"

"Tha-thank you," the girl stuttered as she looked between the two, her head shaking as she tried to meet their gazes at the same time. She was a timid little thing, her hair allowed to fall across her face in a protective covering, but even that wasn't enough to hide her look of absolute wonder and confusion. "I…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to come in here, but…well…"

"You felt drawn," he spoke up to finish her sentence, his words lazy as he motioned for her to come closer, to walk farther into the darkness that surrounded the inside of his shop. "You've been having problems, and you felt that this was the place where you could get them fixed. Am I right?" Without waiting for her to respond, it was with a shrug that he continued on, raising his voice ever so slightly as his servants ran to open the curtains that had covered the windows for so long. "Tell me child, what is your name?"

"Why do you want to know," she said after a moment of silence, her eyes narrowed as a patch of sunlight fell directly on her, momentarily blinding her as she waited for her eyes to adjust.

"You have a problem," he said with a shrug, his eyes fixed hungrily upon her finally seeable face. Behind his, his servants could be heard whispering, their own eyes wide with surprise and joy at seeing her. Watching as she shifted uneasily under their gaze, it was with a snort of amusement that he continued his explanation. "If you don't give me the information I need, then how can I help you?"

"I have dreams," the girl spat out after another moment, during which she had obviously held an internal argument about whether or not to trust him. "Dreams that make no sense, but that I feel should. They keep me awake, and my grades are beginning to suffer because of it. I want them to stop. I want you to make them stop."

"If that is your wish, then you must be willing to pay the price," he said as he stood to his full height, towering over her. His eyes hidden by the glint of the sun on his glasses, it was amusing to see the girl take a step back, her emotions worn fully upon her face.

"How…how much would it cost me?" Her voice held a slight tremor in it, showing another sign of her hesitation. Taking another step back as he leaned towards her, it was with a blush that she watched the sides of his lips twist upon themselves into a mocking smile. Turning her head so that she was no longer meeting his gaze, a shiver traveled down her spine as he once again spoke, his voice a whisper in her ear.

"Well, the price has to be equal to the wish; no more and no less. The question we really must ask is how much are you willing to pay to get these nightmares to stop?"

"A…anything. If it is within my power, I'll give you anything that you want."

"Good," he almost purred, his eyes flashing behind their glass barriers as he examined her face, studying the meekness that he knew would soon fade. Soon, very, very soon, the girl would walk into his store with her hair pulled back and a grin on her face, ready to once more meet her fate. But until then, he would do his best to keep her on track. "In that case, you can start today. Take care of the shop for me, and once you have accumulated enough, your wish shall be granted."

"Accumulated what," the girl asked, though her voice was hopeful that manual labor would be the most she would have to pay to rid herself of the dreams.

"Why, work of course," he replied as he settled once again into his chair, folding his hands before him to rest his chin on. "You can start by making something that goes well with sake."

"Wait," the girl said as she started to turn towards the room he had motioned to with a nod of his head, her eyebrows furrowed as she tilted her own to better look at him. "Don't you need to know my name?"

"I already know… Ichihara Yuuko. You may call me Watanuki."

Sitting there, watching as the reincarnation of the woman he had loved and been waiting for for so long ran off to begin cooking their meal, the first step that she needed to take to realize just how true those dreams were, for the first time in ages, Watanuki finally found it within himself to smile.


End file.
